Spool-delivery cabinet.



No. 667,08l. Patented Jan. 29, l90l. W. H. GENTNER. SPOOL DELIVERYCABINET.

(Appligatiou filed Apr. 14, 1900.)

(No Model.)

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turns STATES WILLIAM H. GENTNER, OF FARMINGTON, IOWA.

SPOOL-DELIVERY CABINET.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 667,081, dated January29, 1901- Applioation filed April 14, 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. GENTNER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Farmington, in the county of Van Buren and State of Iowa,have invented a new and useful Spool-Delivery Cabinet, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements incabinets for spoolcotton and the like, and has for its objects, amongothers, simplification of the delivery of spools of thread or smallpackages from a case or cabinet to the hand of a retail or other dealerwithout requiring the opening of drawers or slides, as in the usualcabinet constructions; to arrange the spool cotton or silk so that thecoarser numbers will be disposed in a bank or tier above the lower finernumbers and the colors separated and located in opposite parts of bothbanks or tiers and also to provide means for indicating the exhaust ofany one or more grades in the cabinet; to provide for convenience infilling the cabinet and also for relieving the chutes of the spoolsautomatically by gravitation without liability of obstruction or jammingand to quickly withdraw and replace a spool that may have beenaccidentally inserted in an irregular manner, and also to provide meansfor reducing the cabinet to compact form,with special advantages inshipment or storage.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in theconstruction and arrangement of the several parts,which will be morefully hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a cabinet embodyingthe improved features of the invention. Fig. 2 is a transverse verticalsection ,of the same. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section of a part of theimproved device. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a portion of theseparable support or baserest of the cabinet.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate correspondingparts in the several views. 7

The numeral 1 designates a delivery-casing which may be provided withany external ornamentation and also be made of such size and dimensionsas may be selected for a particular number or quantity of spools orpackages. The said delivery-case in the pres- Serial No. 12,874. (Nomodel.)

ent instance comprises an upper and lower bank 2 and 3, included withina combined construction and having opposite common ends 4, the upperbank or tier 2 being inclined downwardly slightly below a horizontalplane and the lower bank or tier 3 decidedly inclined at an angle to theinclination of the said upper bank or tier, so that the said lower bankwill have a greater fall or downward inclination to adapt the same fordelivering spools of cotton of finer grades than those located in theupperbank. It will be obviously apparent that less pressing weight willbe present in the rows or lines of smaller spools in the lower bank, andconsequently the latter is given a greater downward inclination, whereasin the upper bank the downward inclination should not be as great, inview of the greater pressure of the larger spools or those carrying thecoarser grades of cotton or silk. The bottom boards or closures 5 and 6have less transverse extent than the banks or tiers 2 and 3, which isdue to a recess 7, formed in the front edge of each, as shown by Fig. 3,which is deepest at the center and gradually becomes shallower atopposite ends. Depending over the front of each bank or tier is a guard8 in the form of a fixed rail, having therein a series offinger-openings 9, extending upwardly thereinto from the bottom andcorresponding in number to the spool-channels in the said banks ortiers. The lower edges of the separated members of the rails 8 are inalinement with the bottoms .5 and 6, and the formation of the recesses 7provides various-sized feed-openings in-the rear of said rails.Extending forwardly from the bottom board or closures 5 and 6 arespringfingers 10, which are intended to hold the spools againstaccidental disengagement from the banks or tiers, but olfer very littleresistance to a withdrawal of the spools by the dealer or clerk, as willpresently be described, owing to thefact that they are formed of thinspring metal. through which the heavier or larger spools are fed, it isproposed to employ a pair of springs in the larger feed-openings, asshown by Fig. 3, to engage opposite ends of the said larger spools,which would be too heavy to be supported by the single spring or finger.It is also intended that this duplicate arrangement In the upper tier orbank 2,

of springs be employed, if necessary, in the central portion of thelower tier or bank; but under ordinary conditions the singlespringfingers will be sufiicient to hold the smaller spools in properdelivery position.

The top 11 of the upper bank or tier 2 presents a smooth surface thatmay be used for different purposes, and therein, near the rear, aretransparent panels 12, disposed on opposite sides of a central andenlarged partition 13, extending transversely through the said bank ortier to expose the spool-channels to exterior view and provide means fordistinguishing the colors of the spool cotton or silk and also todetermine when any one or more of the channels may need replenishing.The lower bank or tier 3 is also provided with a partition extendingtransversely thereof similar to that shown in Fig. 1 and just explainedin connection with the upper tier or bank, and both of these partitionsdivide the tiers or banks to particularly locate all of one kind orshade of spool-cotton on one side and a contrasting shade on theopposite side-as, for instance, black and white. All the channels in thebanks or tiers of the delivery-casing have extending across the rearlower portions thereof guide-blocks 1 1-, which are set in the anglesand have concave front faces 15 in a true are of a circle in eachinstance, and the said guide-blocks are held against back rails 16,forming the rear limit for the channels in the banks or tiers, the railfrom the lower bank or tier beinglonger than that of the upper bank ortier for obvious reasons. The said rails 16 are inclined slightly to therear, and foldably mounted on the upper rear portion of thedelivery-casing is a supply-casing 1'7, having its front portion securedby hinges 18 to the rear terminal of the top 11 and having therein frontand rear series of channels 19 and 20, which communicate, respectively,with the channels in the upper and lower banks or tiers 2 and 3. Thesupply casing 17 is also inclined rearwardly or at an obtuse angle tothe top 11 when erect, as shown by Fig. 2, and so that the-lower andrear terminals of the said supply-casing and the banks or tiersaccurately coincide. The supply-casing 17 is centrally divided by alongitudinal partition 21 and the channels formed by transverse shortpartitions 22, arranged on opposite sides of a main central transversepartition 23 to divide the supply-casing similar to the banks or tiersfor the reception of different shades of spools of cotton. At any timedesired the supplycasing 17 may be moved forwardly and downwardly on thetop 11 to reduce the cabinet to compact form or to rearrange the spoolsor one spool that may have become accidentally inserted in an irregularmanner. When the supply-casing is erect, the spools are regularly feddownwardly into the banks or tiers, and in view of the inclination ofthe supplycasing toward the rear and the downward angle of the banks ortiers the spools will be regularly fed and maintain their alinementwithout crowding, and each spool will roll and pass over theguide-blocks 14 without choking at the angle or point of change ofdirection. The supply-casing 17 is also provided With a hinged lid orcover 24:, and the chutes formed by the partitions 21, 22, and 23decrease in dimensions from the central partition 23 oppositely towardthe opposite ends of the said casing, and in a similar manner thechannels in the delivery-casing in both banks or tiers decrease from thecentral transverse partition oppositely toward opposite ends of the saidlatter casing. By this means the spools of thread of a coarser grade ineach bank or tier are located at the center and gradually diminishtoward the outer end of the delivery-casing for convenience in locatingthe same, and, if desired, the numbers corresponding to the severalgrades may be applied to the rails 8 adjacent the openings in saidrails. The inner portion of the cover or lid 24 may also be suppliedwith rows of numerals to designate the grades of spoolcotton in thefront and rear channels of the supply-casing and facilitate theintroduction of the proper numbers in the chutes designed therefor.

The entire cabinet is supported by separable leg devices comprising legs25, connected by an intermediate web 26, in each instance having itsupper edge 27 inclined similarly to the lower bottom board or closure 6and provided with upstanding dowel-pins 28, which are removably fittedin the corresponding openings in the said bottom board or closure. Thecentral inner portion of each web 26 is formed with a dovetailed slot29, and both leg devices are connected by a longitudinally-extendingtie-strip 30, having terminal dovetailed tongues 31 to removably fit inthe slots 29. A knockdown support for the cabinet is thus provided andmeans for reducing the entire cabinet to compact form in a simple andefiective manner.

In removing the spools from the cabinet the hand is placed under eitherof the rails 8, beneath the number of spools desired, and the thumbforced through the opening 9, thereby pressing the forward spooldownwardly against the resistance of the spring holding finger orfingers 10 and until the latter clear the spool and afterwardautomatically return to normal position to prevent the succeeding spoolin the same channel from becoming accidentally disengaged or to obviatethe delivery of more than one spool at a time. It will be observed fromthis simple mode of using the device, together with the structuralconveniences specified, that very little trouble will be experienced inobtaining from the cabinet any number of the spools desired.

The proportions and dimensions of the patent and the parts thereof maybe changed to suit various applications, and the minor details ofconstruction may be modified, without in the least departing from theprinciple of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In adevice of the character set forth, the combination of a delivery-casinghaving separate banks or tiers each provided with a series of parallelchannels therein and formed with a front open feeding-terminal and alsoopen at the rear, both banks or tiers being inclined downwardly towardthe front, the lower bank or tier having a greater downward inclinationthan the upper one, and a supply-casing hinged to the rear portion ofthe delivery-casing and provided with a double series of chutes havingunobstructed communication with the channels in the deliverycasing whenthe supply-casing is erect, said chutes and channels having a similardimension and accurately registerable and the supply-casing inclined tothe rear when in feeding position.

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of adelivery-casing comprising upper and lower downwardly-inclined banks ortiers each having a series of channels open at the rear and alsoprovided with front open feeding-terminals, the lower bank or tierhaving a greater downward inclination than the upper one, one or moreyielding holding devices at the front feeding-terminals of the channel,and a supply-casing hinged to the rear of the delivery-casing andprovided with separate series of chutes adapted to have unobstructedcommunication with the channels in the banks or tiers of thedelivery-casing.

3. In a device of the character set forth,

the combination of a delivery-casing comprising upper and lowerdownwardly inclined banks or tiers each having a series of channels openat the rear and also provided with front open feeding-terminals, thelower bank or tier having a greater downward inclination than the upperone, one or more yielding holding devices at the front feeding-terminalsof the channel, and a supply-casing hinged to the rear of thedelivery-casing and provided with separate series of chutes adapted tohave unobstructed communication with the channels in the banks or tiersof the delivery-casing, the channels and chutes being similarlydecreased in width from the center toward the opposite ends of thedevices containing the same.

I. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of adelivery-casing composed of upper and lower banks or tiers which aredownwardly inclined toward the .front, the lower bank or tier having agreater downward inclination than the upper one and both provided with aseries of channels open at the rear and front, and a supply-casinghinged to the rear of the delivery-casing and provided with separateseries of chutes independently communicating with the channels of thebanks or tiers, the said supply-casing being inclined to the rear.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WM. H. GENTNER.

Witnesses:

LOUIS SOHAU, L. F. GENTNER.

